I just read my 52nd or 53rd newsletter from Chip Zdarsky this year. I, on the other hand, have managed to post a grand total of ten newsletters this year. And the first six were at the start of the year when I was running my Kickstarter campaign for Shaolin Nun issue #4.
I guess I don’t have much to talk about when I’ve only got the one book, and issue #4 is still not finished. If it’s finished by January 16, that will mean it took a full year to fulfill the campaign. Not a great success story, but I’ve seen worse. Though, it makes me feel bad every month that I need to send out a “sorry we’re still working on the book” notification.
So 2023. What a year. As I said, I’ve struggled to get the latest issue of Shaolin Nun out and in backer’s hands. I caught COVID-19. My mother passed away. I’ve not seen a raise in three years and everything got more expensive over the summer.
It’s not been fun. It’s by far not the worst year I’ve had, but it could be in the top 10.
2024 looks brighter. I’m finally taking a long needed vacation to Scotland in May. It’s been so long since I took a real vacation that I’m going to enjoy the trip no matter what.
I’d like to wrap up the first arc of Shaolin Nun this year, hopefully I can make that happen, and see if I can find a publisher. But in the meantime, I’ll launch my next, uber-top-secret (well a couple of people know about it) story by the end of 2024, start of 2025. This story came about in 2018. After I finished writing the first six issues of Shaolin Nun, a good friend advised me to “write something completely opposite.” So I did. And I LOVE it! And I want to share it with everyone!
In the meantime happy New Year! And for those who know, Happy Hogmanay today! If you don’t know, you could always Google “Hogmanay”.
I was recently reminded of an old Scottish proverb, that I will do my best to make my mantra for 2024 and beyond:
“Be happy while you’re living, for you’re a long time dead.”
See you next year, and I’ll try to put out at least 12 newsletters.